Psychologists have used this image to see if a person sees something out of the ordinary. There are pictures that depict an optical illusion or are ambiguous to the eye. This picture has two images of two women. From one perspective there is a younger female looking to the side and a second older female who appears to be peering downwards.. Depending on your perception, you will see one or the other. In some cases, people can see both. Varying interpretations are a daily theme in our lives. Two people seeing the same situation will have a different view or perspective.
I believe 2020 is the year of vision! God will make things clear. God wants to give you new vision for your life and clear perspective. Unlike art, he is clear and not ambiguous when he speaks. “He is not a man that he should lie.” (Numbers 23:19). He wants you to write the vision, when he makes it plain to you, run with it like a messenger on a mission (Habakkuk 2:2). In this blog we will see the life of the prophet Jeremiah as a Seer and what he overcame to fulfill his purpose. We will also look at the life of English poet John Milton and discuss how he dealt with his blindness and his inability to produce without physical vision. Finally, we will talk about Paul’s transformation due to his blindness and how God used him after he regained his sight. Through these men’s experiences, we will see how God uses seasons of ambiguity to give us new sights, new perspective and new vision.
When I Consider How My Light Is Spent
by John Milton - 1608-1674
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best.
His state is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."
This poem written by Milton, partly describes someone dependent on his sight to fulfill his purpose. When Milton says, “my light” he was describing his failing eyesight and age. When Milton became blind, he questioned God and asked “how do you expect me to fulfill my purpose as a writer if I can’t see.” He questions how he should spend his time and use his talent if he has no sight. This poem confirms that we should never fully identify ourselves with what we do, but rather with who we are. He was a writer, but he was also a man. His gift as a writer added to his purpose, but it wasn’t his identity. When his vision was stripped away by blindness, he lost his self value because he identified with the title of poet, rather than the one who gave him the ability to write. What Milton needed to see and understand was his dependency was not supposed to be on his ability, but rather on the one who gave it to him.
Milton continues saying, “God doth not need either man's work or His own gifts.” Milton describes God as a “king” who has servants “bidding” to do assignments and others who he has in waiting. Milton concludes his poem by saying “they also serve who only stand and wait." What Milton learned was that if the king tells you that he reserved a mission specifically for you and you stand and wait for his instructions, you are serving him. Many times we grow faint when we don’t have clear instructions to our next assignment or destination. Waiting on the word is serving God.
This concept is difficult for many, especially those who are driven by projects or feel worth only if they produce daily work. Milton learned that his worth came from his maker rather than what he could do to serve his maker. What God is saying is, if you serve me, I love you. If you do nothing, my love remains the same. My love for you is not dependent upon your works. If I tell you to wait because I have something specific for you, wait on the next instructions. Wait for me to give you the vision for the next step.
In Jeremiah chapter one, God called him to be a prophet. His purpose on earth before God formed him in his mother’s womb was to be a spokesman for God and be heard (Jeremiah 29:11). Many times he was rejected because his words challenged others and brought conviction Jer. 37:2. He was thrown into a cistern in prison to silence him (Jer. 37:15,16 38:6). Jeremiah cried out to God and promised he would never speak again. Speaking was too painful. But, God “seduced” him (Jer. 20:7-11). The fire he felt compelled him to speak and obey what he heard God say. The word was “like a fire shut up in his bones (Jer. 20:9).
God gave Jeremiah a gift of speaking. But it would cost him being ridiculed, isolated and misunderstood. What does this mean for us? What has God called and set you apart to do? Are you willing to do it knowing many will criticize, judge and/or try to silence you? We can safely say that Jeremiah identified himself as a prophet. However, what was he thinking when he was put in prison for doing what God had commanded him to do? How did he see his situation?
Blinded by the Light
Although, God is not a God of confusion but peace (1 Cor 14:3), and he doesn’t do anything until he reveals it to his prophets first (Amos 3:7); there are seasons in our lives where we appear to be blind, confused or lack revelation for the next step. May I suggest to you that God may have orchestrated your lack of insight, so you can depend on his word and his Holy Spirit for his direction. Saul is an example of someone who was blinded by the light. He lost his way due to the lights of influence and power. On the Damascus road, he was stuck by a light that changed his life forever. When he became blinded by the light of God’s judgment, he was humbled and forced to depend on the mercy of others. Scales needed to fall from his eyes so the truth could be revealed to him.
The revelation he received through his transformation was manifested through his writing of the letters to the church. Before Saul could minister to others, God had to humble him and bring clarity of who he was. Before this transformation, Saul killed and persecuted Christians. He believed he was doing God’s will. He was deceived and oblivious to his condition. His blindness to the truth was hurting others. Because of this, God stopped him in his tracks and caused him to fall off his high horse (Acts 9). God humbled him. His transformation needed to be seen by others and developed over time.
We shouldn’t judge Saul so harshly because once we were like him. Without Christ, we were blinded by the lights of possessions, power and authority, and have used our position to hurt others, even unintentionally (Acts 9:13). Many times we hide behind property, positions, titles and power. But God used darkness to show Saul the light. After he was blinded, he needed to unlearn his religious ideations and relearn how he saw himself, God and others. After Saul’s conversion, before he was sent to preach his name was changed to Paul (Acts 13:9). He is considered one of the greatest authors and apostles of the bible.
Today you may see through a “glass darkly,” (I Corinthians 13) but in due season God will bring revelation, illuminate your path and make it straight. Now you may see through an opaque glass, but God will make your vision plain. Your job is to see it correctly, write it down then run with it. In Habakkuk 2:2 “Then the LORD says: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” If you cannot see the vision correctly, how can you write it down, make it plain or run with it? My prayer is that like Jeremiah, you see correctly. (Jeremiah 1:12) I pray that the eyes of your heart/understanding be enlightened to the truth of who you are (Ephesians 1:18), who God is and secure in the future he has predestined for you before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 2:10).
Do not lean on your own understanding or your works like Milton did when he lost sight of his true identity. His identity wasn’t based on his writing, but on the one who gave him the capacity to see and write. Position yourself to listen for the next instruction/assignment like Paul did when the scales fell from his eyes. Remember, Paul could not mentor Timothy, lead churches or give instructions (1 Timothy 5) unless he first learned to be led by God in humble submission.
Questions to consider:
What do you see for your future, your family, your finances?
How do you perceive God, yourself and others?
When you consider how you have spent your life, are you satisfied with what you see? Why or why not?
Do you know God’s vision for your life?
Have you written it down?
Are you running with it to be accomplished?
How are you seeking God for revelation/light for your next assignment? Counsel, Prayer, Fasting?
Click here for the explanation and study of John Milton’s poem.
To watch Inky Johnson’s inspirational story click here.
To listen to the song “Fly” by Jason Upton click here